Tainted
by chaimaelahsini
Summary: This is my version of Vampire Academy, a little bit darker and more emotional with a lot of action. It's the same story line, with some slight differences, and an entirely new writing style. The characters might be a little bit OOC. I hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All references to The Vampire Academy's books are owned by Richelle Mead.**

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**Chapter One**

_Blurry landscapes of dark woods and bushy trees rushed past me, and the gentle purring of the car engine almost lured me to sleep. It was a cold night, one of the coldest yet this winter, and no matter how fast I rubbed my hands together, they were still freezing. Strangely enough, I welcomed the sensation, the physical cold distracting me from the one inside, from the huge icy lump sitting on my gut like a heavy rock. Something was wrong, somehow, I just sensed it, and it was bothering me enough to set every cell in my body on alert._

_I should have done something then, said something, done anything but sit there and wait for my doom to come and collect me. Years and years in the Academy had taught me that a Guardian's best weapon was his hunch, and to always listen to that little voice inside my heart that told just precisely what I needed to know._

_I didn't listen. I should have, but I didn't._  
_It was the biggest mistake I've made in my entire life, and I've made plenty._

_As if sensing my dark mood, Lissa turned around to look at me, her smile slowly disappearing upon meeting my troubled gaze. Huge jade green eyes studied me, making the lump in my gut feel heavier and heavier by the second. I was Lissa's Guardian, or I would be someday. But I didn't need a tattoo and an official oath to protect Lissa, years of friendship and sisterhood made sure that I would give my life for hers in an eye blink._

_"Rose, what's wrong?" She whispered softly, a deep frown marring her delicate features._

_Shaking my head, I tried to smile reassuringly at her, but by the look on her face I figured I was failing miserably._

_Our sudden silence must have tipped off Andre, because soon enough his warm hand slid over, gripping my frozen ones, and I almost hissed at the sudden heat._

_"Rose, you're freezing!" He said, squeezing me more tightly. "Are you okay?"_

_I nodded, not able to form a sound around the lump chocking my throat._

_"Hey, look at me." He cooed gently, his warm fingers tipping my chin toward him._

_The moon light reflected on his face, giving an unearthly glow to his beautiful features, and snaking the breath right out of me. Coldness swept through me as I gazed into his swirling blue eyes, breaking my skin into hard goose bumps. And an eerie sense of grief and loss threatened to choke me at any given moment._

_The smell hit me then, sweet and foul, like a rotten fruit—like something that had gone awfully bad. I shuddered at the terrible scent, turning to search for its source when I heard a sound—the faint whisper of footsteps, fast but steady, and just loud enough to pierce above the car engine._

_The little hairs on the nape of my neck stood tall like ice picks, and just through the window behind Andre's shoulder, I saw the blurry glimpse of a tall silhouette. Everything happened so fast after that, but for some reasons I still ignored, my wide horrified eyes didn't miss a single thing._

_"Rose?" He called softly, his voice breaking a little—probably because of the horrified look on my face._

_"We need to stop—"_

_I didn't have the time to finish my sentence, because in the next second, something fell from the sky; something that was heavy and bloody. By it salty and metallic smell, I guessed it was human too. The body came crushing down on the hood of the car, sending white thick veins on the glass of the windshield. Shock and surprise numbed my mind, so much that I barely registered Lissa's piercing scream or her sharp nail digging into my arm._

_Time is a very strange thing; when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow it down, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up, and no matter how much you want to stop it, there's nothing you can do to slow it down again._

_The rush of the moment was what ruined me; I didn't have the time to focus on shielding myself from the coming collision. I didn't have the time to feel the dread blooming inside of me like a dark stain, or the fear turning my core into a cold heavy stone. I didn't have the time to think about anything or anyone; I didn't even have the time to breathe. I just sat there, strapped to my doom, watching the end coming toward me at full speed._

_The car toppled over, turning everything else upside down as it went rolling down the road like a big crunchy ball of heavy metal._

_The impact was so hard that I thought I was going to break into pieces. There was the buckling sound of the metal ripping, screeching tires, shattering glass and a scream; Lissa's bloodcurdling scream. I felt my body fall forward, pieces of shattered glass piercing my arms and my head hitting hard against something metallic._

_And just as fast as it had started, it stopped. Everything stopped._

Or so I had thought.

I jerked from my bed with a loud gasp, dark hair sticking to my sweaty forehead and barely able to catch my breath. It was just a dream. I realized with relief, it was just that damned dream again. One that I had relived time and time again; one that had haunted me for two years now and didn't seem to want to stop.

Dropping my head into my palms, I sighed heavily, listing to my erratic heartbeat and willing it to slow enough to let me breath. I was tired. Many sleepless nights had left me permanently exhausted, and had long ago etched dark circles around my eyes. And after two years on the run, on our own, staying alert and always prepared for the worse was becoming harder and harder. I was more than tired, I was drained, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up this charade for much longer.

I couldn't help wondering how things would've been like if we had never left the Academy, if we had never run away. I would've probably been kicking someone's ass at training right now, giving them a good old Hathaway beating. And I would've been all smug and cocky about it.

It was hard not to miss the Academy; it was the only true home I had ever known. And no matter how much I wished I didn't, a part of me will always still be there, because that's where I belonged; at the Academy, training to become a Guardian, to protect Lissa, to honor the Hathaway's name.

I will never bear the promise mark, and I was pretty sure that I had disgraced the Hathaway's line, but I was protecting Lissa, and that's all that mattered. I was protecting her, and if I had to sacrifice my life and future to do so, and so be it. I owed her that much.

A chocked sob tore me from my glum thoughts, and my head snapped to my left to see Lissa turning and sobbing in her bed. I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet between us.

Her beautiful face was contorted with painful anguish, and hot tears streamed down her flushed blotchy cheeks.

"Liss," I said, shaking her, "Liss, wake up."

Her sobs subdued into soft pitiful whimpers, and my heart nearly broke at the sound of it.

"Andre," She moaned, "Oh God."

The breath was knocked out of my chest at the mention of his name, grief spreading through my insides like wild fire and burning my heart in it blind course.

I shook her harder, praying that she would wake up so we could both get out of this nightmare. Finally her eyes started to flutter open, and consciousness slowly seeped into her. Water flooded her green gaze as she threw herself into my arms, fiercely holding me closer to her. Her shoulders shook with desperate and miserable tears, each sob tearing away a piece of me.

I spent my whole life training to fight monsters, to throw myself at them—if need be—to protect my charge. I spent hours and hours learning how to kick and punch, how to stab and shoot, how to hurt, and ultimately, how to kill. And yet, here I was powerless in front of a simple dream.

Swallowing my bitterness, I ran a hand over her tangled golden locks, promising for the thousandth time that I would always been there for her.

"It's okay," I whispered softly, "It's all over now."

"I had that dream."

"I know."

Silence haunted the room after that for several minutes, but I didn't let go of her right away. We both needed this, needed to be sure of each other, to reassure ourselves that we were still here, live and sound.

"You already knew, didn't you?"

My heart skipped a beat at the memory of that cold feeling, and when Lissa looked up into my eyes, I knew that she felt it too.

"That night, you already knew that something would happen."

It wasn't the first time she'd asked me this, or even the second or the third. Every once in a while, when she dreamt of that damned night, the grief and dejection were just too much for her. I knew what came next, I knew that it was going to be extremely painful, but I also knew how much it would appease her. And I felt that I owed her that much.

Letting out of a breath I didn't realize I was holding, I closed my eyes and dipped my fingers into her soft hair.

"Yes, I did," I let out softly, shame and guilt already creeping up on my soul. "I knew."

"Tell me."

And so I told her. And with each word leaving my mouth, I could feel her relax even more in my arms, her breath becoming more even and her heart slowing down. I could feel the anxiety and the distress leave through her pores, and the dark cloud looming above her heart dissipating slowly, but surely.

And I could also feel it sneaking right over to me. It always started with this tingling warmth reaching to the back of my mind; prodding and poking through my head. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, that was for sure—having something probe through your brain wasn't exactly a very nice experience. Steadily, it got worse; the relentless invasion growing more persistent, more merciless. A flash of white hot pain struck me like lightning, disappearing just as suddenly as it appeared, but it left behind a trail for a strange, untamed darkness to pour into me. A darkness so somber and heavy, so fervent and strong is left me breathless.

Soon enough I was straining to get the words out of my mouth, the intensity of my emotions becoming too much for me to bear anymore. The monstrous darkness made me feel everything ten times stronger, sharper and deeper. And my body was simply too small to hold in so much raw feelings, to control the blinding rage or the gut wrenching guilt. It was slowly becoming a raging storm inside of me, each sensation tearing at a part of my soul, wanting to slit me to pieces, to rip me to shreds.

Pushing away from Lissa, I quickly moved away from her, not trusting myself to be near her any longer. God only knew what I might be capable of in such state.

"I'm sorry, Rose." I almost missed the gentle hush of her voice—my heart instantly tightened at the sound of it. "I know how much it upset you to talk about." Color tainted her pale cheeks, and she shamefully dropped her head down.

Savage anger flashed through me, and my mind wanted to scream so many things at her, horrible things, hateful things that I knew would make me despise myself afterwards. But in that moment, all I wanted was release, release from this pitiful excuse of a life, freedom from this cage I was living in for almost two years now. I just wanted it to be over, to end already, and to simply stop. Stop!

Quickly turning away from her, I walked to the window and pushed it open. The night cool air swept inside and rushed toward me, brushing softly against my feverish skin and distracting me from the volcano erupting inside of me. Sighting softly, I let myself enjoy the calming sensation, until I caught the faint movement from the corner of my eyes. Across the road, a streetlight flickered, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out the shapes of cars and buildings. In our own yard, I could see the silhouettes of trees and bushes.

And a man watching me.

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A big thanks to **Samyse**, you've been really helpful, I appreciate it immensely.  
Enjoy everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All references to the Vampire Academy books are owned by Richelle Mead.**

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There were moments in one's life when everything went very still. The world suddenly grew very quiet. A haunting silence that echoed so deafeningly in your soul, in your mind. You won't hear a thing, nothing but your racing heart and your ragged breathing. All your senses became strained on one focused point in the whole world, and everything else simply faded away. Everything else except that point.

I stared at the figure standing by a tree in the yard. It was about thirty feet away from the house, where he could easily see through the window. The shadows covered him so well that he almost blended with the darkness, but not enough to escape my heightened sight. The misty night casted unholy shadows on his hard face, accentuating every sharp counter of his hard features. He was tall, really tall, a good foot or more taller than me. And was just as equally well built, carrying his impressive height and muscular body with a grace and an ease that just well trained dhampirs had. He just stood there, tall and proud; unmoving. His eyes gleamed in the shadows, cool and dark; watching and anticipating.

He just stood there, in all his silent glory, like a dark angel waiting to collect my soul.

Reality seemed to finally slam into me, and I instantly dropped down, crouching on the floor with my heart drumming furiously in my ears and my body humming from the strange buzz of his penetrating eyes on me.

"Rose?" Lissa called, making me jump in my nervous state.

I turned to find her looking at me funnily while getting up. I hastily shushed her, giving her a clear sign to stay down no matter what. She compelled with no further questions.

Slowly moving to the corner, I peeked from the edge of the window, and instantly spotted him again. He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows casted by the trees on the far side of the yard. I was pretty sure I saw a flash of white teeth as he smirked at me before stepping back and letting the shadows swallow him.

Adrenaline bursted in my veins, hot and yielding, urging me to move, to do something. But for a second, I just sat there, feeling the dread spread through my limbs.

They found us.  
That realization echoed through every bone in my body, making me feel all hot and cold at the same time.

I couldn't move.  
I needed to move but I couldn't. I think I must have been frozen to that spot, just frozen.  
They found us and now they were here. Here to take us back to the Academy. To take us back home.

The fleeting thought of simply sitting there and wait for them to catch us cross my mind for the briefest of moment. I was tired, and I just wanted to go home. I just wanted things to go back to the way they used to be, normal and simple. I wanted to be simple again, just for a day, just for a minute.

"Rose?"

Her voice was like a bucket of icy water splashing on my face, snapping me back to reality. A reality that reminded me again that what I wanted didn't really matter. It was all about what Lissa needed; and she needed me, she needed me to protect her and be always by her side.

Signing is resignation, I backed away from the window and turned to face a nervous Lissa.

"We have to go. Now." I commanded in a surprisingly calm voice, making my words as clear and urgent as possible.

Her eyes widened, and then a second later, understanding clicked in, "Are you…really? Are you sure?"

I nodded. "They had come for us. The guardians are already here."

Fear swelled in her and shot right through me, making my heart speed up and my head spin a little. Closing my eyes at the nauseous sensation, I took a deep breath before opening them again and reaching for her. Taking her slightly shaking hands in mine, I urged her to look at me, and her frightened eyes met mine.

"Listen to me, I won't let anything happen to you, you hear me?" I said gravely and her head bobbed in confirmation.

"I know that, Rose. But what if…what are we going to do if they catch us?" she whispered.

"They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."

"But if they've found us—"

"They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll take the car and just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail."

I made it sound simple. I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been doing it for two years, hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish high school. Our senior year had just started, and living on a college campus had seemed safe. We were so close to freedom, and I wasn't about to let anyone wreck it all.

She said nothing more, and I hastily urged her to get dressed. Not waiting any longer, we headed downstairs, our soft footsteps softly reasoning through the sleepy house. The whole way I kept glancing back at Lissa, I could still feel her fear inside of me, but there was something else in there too: her complete faith that I would take care of everything, that we would be safe, and like always, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust.

We stepped outside, heading toward the corner where I had parked the car earlier tonight. The night cool air brushed over my flushed face, making me feel more wake and alert, and whit the wild emotions still swirling inside of me, it gave me just the right rush of adrenaline to move faster and quieter. Clasping Lissa's hand in mine, I scanned the dim darkness surrounding us while I urged her to move as silently as possible. There was nothing that even my enhanced sight could catch, but again, Guardians were trained to be invisible, stealthy and right down ninja like.

Our light footsteps echoed through the empty dark street, making the silence around us feel thicker and heavier than it really was. I could sense the trained eyes stalking us from afar, following our every move, but I couldn't bring myself to really care. We had only two more blocks to go before reaching the car; two blocks away from our ticket to freedom. Getting us there as fast as possible was all I could think about at the moment.

I could hear Lissa's breathing getting faster and harder behind me, and she was already slowing down. I turned around to glance at her, and nearly crashed down when I saw the tall dhampir only a few feet behind us, his hands reaching for Lissa.

I had no time to wonder how in the world he had moved so fast and silently, but quickly jerked her in front of me, almost sending her to kiss the floor but efficiently keeping her away from his grasp.

"Run!" I screamed at her. "Keep running!"

She yelped in surprise, but I didn't give her time to recover, just pushed her in front of me and doubled my pace. Adrenaline burned through my veins, hot and wild, but with Lissa's terror thrown in the mix, getting a foot in the other was becoming harder and harder.

"Stop!" A beaming voice shouted from behind us. "We don't want to hurt you, just stop!"

Lissa's panic was now turning into full blown terror, nearly drowning me. It was really amazing how my body accommodated to her fear, almost as if it was my own. My heart drummed faster and faster, pushing the blood to my legs and increasing my speed. I was barely grazing the ground, or at least, that's how it felt like, like I was flying, floating above the concrete sol. And time seemed to slow down while I shot down the road like a wild bullet. The cold air stung my flushed cheeks, and burned my heated lungs. But I barely felt any of it. The rush of adrenaline that was coursing through my veins was making me invincible, unreachable.

It lasted about five seconds, and then it all started to go down. The ringing began in my ears. My vision was narrowing down, blocking everything around me, and all I could see was the car; the only mean to our salvation. That was all I could think about, the car. I had to get to the car. I must get to the car.

I didn't noticed how bad my chest hurt, or how my steps were becoming louder, and my breath shallower, or how my legs were shaking so bad it was a wonder I was still up at all.

I didn't notice any of it until I could almost taste her fear, sour and bitter against the back of my mouth. It was making me sick to my stomach, all of it; the frantic emotions and the wild thoughts and images that were running through her mind to mine, nearly blinding me. I wanted her to shut her brain off and just freaking run, because all of that thinking was distracting me and making a simple task as running more difficult than it really should. It was making me weak, clumsy and disoriented and I couldn't afford that, not right now. I had to get us out of here.

My foot suddenly landed on the wrong angle, and my steps faltered for the slightest fraction of a second.

That was all it took.

A hard body crashed into me, snatching a surprised yelp from me and knocking the air right out of my lungs. We went down in a spiral mess of legs and arms, the coarse concrete ground scarping my skin as we rolled down the road. Somehow, the dhampir twisted around and took the brunt of the fall. I landed on top of him, but quickly wiggled myself out of his grasp, getting as far away from him as possible.

My muscles complained at my every move, and I already could feel the bruises forming at the rough impact. Pushing myself up to my knees, I look up, and he was already standing there.

My frantic heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, and for a moment, all I could do was stare. I don't know what stroke me most, his barbaric beauty, or the grace by which he carried himself. The air seemed to sizzle around him, just standing there, body tense and alert, ready to strike at any moment. And by the alluring gleam in his dark eyes, I knew that he would. He would come at me without a moment to hesitate.

My eyes couldn't help but keep wondering on his face, taking in the sharp curve of his jaw, the strong angle of his chin, the proud arch of his nose, the high slant of his cheekbones, the straight line of his dark eyebrows, and the softness of his pale pink lips. But it all came back to the churning dark pits of his eyes. The breath hitched in my throat, and I could feel my stoic mask already faltering. But I knew; I already knew that it didn't really matter. Those eyes, those endless dark gleaming eyes were already reaching deep down me, reading me like a plain book, roaming the darkest corners of my soul and unraveling every little dirty secret. Those eyes were ripping me open, they were reaching to me, through me, into me all at once. Yet all I could do was stare; stare at the most beautiful, haunting, and frightening pair of onyx eyes I've ever seen.

I don't know when my heart had started thumping so hard, but I was sure the young man could hear it, each beat as loud and wild as the one before, and I didn't know if it was from fear, surprise, or something else entirely I couldn't understand.

His sculpted face was set in a thoughtful yet confused expression, and I could almost see the wheels turning inside his head, trying to anticipate my next move.

Lissa's sudden frightened cry tore me from my staring, and I turned to see her being chased by another Guardian that came out of freaking nowhere. I was instantly on my feet, ready to bolt after her. But one glance at the dhampir standing in front of me was enough to glue back to my spot. With both of us standing this time, I realized how much taller he really was. And I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by his impressive high, or a lot really. The man was huge, probably double my size, and it didn't take a genius to know that trying to fight him was right down suicidal.

Another cry of terror from Lissa tore through the silent night, steering a storm inside of me. She needed me, now, and every cell in my body was urging me run to her. My nails drew blood as I clenched my fits at my sides, frustrated energy running wildly through my veins nearly shoving me out of my skin. I had to move, I wanted to move. But turning to look back at the giant that was staring at me with his disturbing dark eyes, I knew that there wasn't a chance of a snowball in hell I'd be able to make a move without having him pouncing on me like a starved wolf.

"ROSE!"

Screw it.

I couldn't just stand there anymore. Drawing my right leg back, I kicked a naked patch of land with all my might, sending dirt and grass flying directly in the dhampir's face. I didn't wait to see if my aim hit home, but simply sprinted after Lissa. The urge to snap the neck of the Guardian who was following her giving me enough energy to fly down the street.

I rammed into him from behind, driving my shoulder into his back with enough force to knock the breath out of him and send him kissing the floor. Red hot pain shot through my arm, leaving me breathless as I staggered after him, still disoriented by the momentum of the impact. But I quickly regained my footing, speeding after Lissa who was only a block away from the car.

_We could do this, we did it before and we'll do it again._ I chanted to myself, pushing my legs to go faster and faster.

My heart was drumming furiously in my chest, and the sound of the blood rushing through my veins almost made me miss the faint whisper of footsteps behind me. But when I felt someone's warm breath hit the nape of my neck, I instantly dropped down in a crouch, just in time to see the Guardian that I had knocked down a few second ago go flying over my head. He went rolling down a couple of times in front of me, but quickly jumped back on his feet, turning around to face me. His was was the perfect mask of stoicism but his light blue eyes betrayed his anger. To say the least, the man wasn't very happy with me, but again, neither was I. He was wasting my time, time I couldn't afford to lose.

Letting my instincts take over, I pushed my heels into the ground, gaining enough momentum to leap forward and ram my hand up his nose. The Guardian cried in pain as I felt his nose squash under my palm. Blood spurted down his face, hot and sweet, and water flooded his eyes, blinding him. I didn't give him the time to recover and threw a hook to his face. My fist caught him square in the jaw, and I watched in satisfaction as his head snapped backwards and his eyes rolled into his skull.  
He was definitely out this time.

Shaking my hand to get the blood flowing back to my fingers, I raised my head in time to see Lissa only a couple of yards from the car, and quickly caught up with her. Relief and pride were making their way into my heart, tugging on my lips as they rose into a smug smile.

We were getting away, _again_. And this time, I even took a trained Guardian down.

I felt him before I saw him. Like a gentle breeze passing me by, warm yet fresh on my heated skin, and carrying his musky scent through the air. It gently ruffled my hair, bringing a few strands to land on my hair, blinding me just for the briefest moment. And then, he was there, standing directly in front of the car. In front of our only escape.

We came into a screeching halt, stopping merely a couple of feet from him. And I jerked Lissa back by her arm, keeping her behind me and away from the man.

He was a sight to be hold, and under any other circumstances, I had to admit that the man was truly fascinating. With his chin long hair now untied and framing his face, adding a soft touch to his harsh features. His dark eyes gleaming in the night light like two broken shards of glass and that ridiculous long coat of his flipping by his legs, he looked like some cowboy god who just stepped out of a western novel.

But more than his unsettling appeal, what irritated me most was how he didn't seem wounded in the least. I had absolutely no idea how someone could move so unbelievably fast, even for a well trained dhampir. Not even was he several feet behind me, I hadn't even seen him coming. He simply appeared out of thin air. As if the wind had carried him and put him exactly in front of us. Of the car, of our only escape.

Somewhere in my mind, I was aware that I was staring at him like an idiot, eyes wide and mouth open. The surprise paint on my face like clear day. I just wanted to understand how in the world he got there, but this wasn't really the time for chit chats. I had to get us to the car. Somehow, I really didn't know how, but I had to do it.

"Rose?" I heard Lissa call quietly behind me, the faint quiver in her voice not really helping.

"Don't worry," I whispered back, "I got this."

The harsh sound that came from the tall dhampir made us both jump back, and when I looked at him, the wink of teeth that I saw earlier was now a full blow feral smile. He was laughing, I realised. And it took me another half second to realise he was laughing at me.

"You got this?" he mocked in his deep low voice. "Are you sure little Hathaway?"

The way his dark eyes racked my body was not in the least flattering. The condescending tilt of his eyebrow said it all, he saw what I got and deemed it lacking.

Furry burned through my blood, straightening my spine and making my body go rigid. And I had to bit hard down my lip to not let the few thoughts I had regarding his little Hathaway comment escape. I wasn't stupid. he was baiting me, and two years ago I would've easily fallen for that. It was much easier fighting an angry and distracted opponent than a focused one, and since he had probably heard about me and my fiery Hathaway temper, I was pretty sure that what he was aiming for. But what he didn't know was that I had changed. I wasn't the same person anymore.

"Rose?" Lissa called again, her surprise at my lack of response a little bit offending.

"There's no use to run." The man spoke, and I noticed for the first time his strange bitter accent. "Guardians are already circling the whole area." His calm and confident tone made the air rush out of my lungs, and I could feel Lissa's heart sink to her feet just like mine did.

Dread and hopelessness washed over us both, heavy and hard, and I knew by her slumped shoulders that she was already giving up.

As if on cue, the hidden Guardians came out of the Shadows, slowly circling us from everywhere. I counted a dozen of them but the numbers only kept adding up. I could hardly believe it. The queen herself didn't travel with that many. There was no way I could get us out here now, even if I miraculously had some chance against a dozen of well trained and skilled dhampirs, I was pretty sure the man standing in front of me will be a whole other deal.

But I couldn't just give up now. I had sacrificed too much already to be led so easily back to the Academy. I had renounced a brilliant career, I had disgrace my family name, I broke every rule and every oath I was taught since I was a child. I had gone against everything I believed in to keep Lissa safe, to keep her away from harm's way. And harm was what waiting for us at the Academy, of that much I was completely sure.

Not tearing my eyes from the dhampir, I slipped my hand in hers, praying that the car keys I just gave her didn't jiggle and gave away my plan.

I heard her gasp a little at the realisation of what I was asking from her drawn on her, and by the sudden stiffness of her body I knew that she was ready to object. But I didn't give her the chance.

I was already launching my self at the tall dhampir.

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**I'm really sorry for the delay, I promise you it won't happen again, or at least I'll try to.**  
**Thank you very much for the lovely reviews, you cannot believe how much your feedback matters to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. **  
**Have a good day everyone. **


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